Iraqi poll law a step toward US withdrawal

Iraq's parliament has ended weeks of debate and passed a long-delayed elections law.

This paves the way for the planned January election to go ahead, and sidesteps a crisis that could have delayed U.S. troop withdrawal.

The law approved the open list system, under which voters can pick individual candidates.

It also stipulated that each of the country's 18 provinces will be considered as a single electorate.

The lawmakers have been struggling over a compromise on the crucial law which was delayed by the stance of the Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen over the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Kurdish lawmakers wanted Kirkuk to vote according to the 2009 registry of voters like the rest of the country.

But the Arabs and Turkmen have viewed the rise of Kurds in the province with suspicion. They preferred to use the 2004 or 2005 voters registry.

The new electoral law solves the impasse by suggesting using the 2009 voters registry in Kirkuk like the rest of the country. But voting should be subject to examination by a committee if there is a suspicion about the number of votes.

If the committee find irregularities of five percent in any province, then the voting will be abolished and a new poll held again later.

U.S. President Barack Obama has hailed the Iraqi parliament's approval on 2010 Election Law as "an important milestone" toward Iraq's democracy and national unity.

He says the agreement advances the political progress that can bring lasting peace and unity to Iraq, and allow for the orderly and responsible transition of American combat troops out of Iraq by next September.

Obama said the U.S. would continue working closely with the Iraqi government and people as Washington begins its major troop withdrawal next spring.